Tag Archives: whiskey beard

On occasion, the stars align for the ladies of Beards of Denver. When we think we’re simply heading out on the town for an always-innocent night of sippin’ whiskey and dancin’ to the folk-Americana-bluegrass-accordion-laced music we fancy, wouldn’t you know, a fabulous beard enters our orbit. Such was the case on a recent Friday night at Larimer Lounge in Denver, when our already wonderful night of listening to the amazing tunes of Hurray for the Riff Raff (who put out one of our favorite albums this year) and Spirit Family Reunion was topped off by meeting Joe from Denver and admiring his amazing beard. Believe it or not, ladies and gentlebeards, this is Joe’s first foray into serious beard growth. He’s been growing his beard since February, and shared with us that lots of guys “Think they are not beard guys because it grows in patchy” but he was adamant they need to stay the course and get past those uncomfortable stages until they reach full beard glory. We, of course, couldn’t agree more. Joe, who often used to shave his head, altered his hair cut to complement his beard. Such good choices! Joe shampoos his beard every few days, and came about using a beard cream in a rather serendipitous fashion. Walking into the Dive Inn bar on South Broadway one night, he encountered a bar back there who makes a beard cream called Don’s Beard Cream, which accounts for his beard’s soft texture (turns out you can buy this at Indie 6). Yet another example of wonderful Denver Beard-brotherhood.Originally from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, this good Midwestern boy has called our fair city of Denver home the past eight years. When not grooming his beard, he plays guitar and generally philosophizes. Believe it or not ladies, Joe’s a free agent, which we’re sure won’t last for long with a beard like his. He plans to put in at least a full year of beard growth, declaring “I feel like I’ve come so far and I need to take it to the limit. Why do anything if you’re not going to go all the way?” Take it all the way, Joe! We can’t wait to see how your beard progresses come February.

Here in Denver, we are fortunate for so many reasons. We have tons of breweries from which to sample so much frothy deliciousness; we are able to get around on bikes almost anywhere in our wonderful city; and every night of the week there are a multitude of great live music choices to see. It is at one of our favorite venues, the Larimer Lounge, where we met Nate and his stop-you-in-your-tracks beard. We were there to see two wonderful bands–Shel out of Fort Collins and Whiskey Shivers out of Austin–and were pleasantly surprised to meet Nate between sets. Nate has been growing his amazing mane on and off since 2004, and has lived in Denver about 13 years. When he’s not playing the role of volunteer roadie for Shel he works at Renegade Publik House in Denver, which features many of the aforementioned delicious brews. Nate said his mom has a love/hate relationship with his beard (clearly we need to get her over to our side of pure appreciation) and–get ready for this ladies–he has no sweetheart!? With a beard like this and that much dapper style, that won’t be the case for long. Thanks Nate! We’ll be by Renegade to see you, and admire that beard of yours, soon!

Occasionally, the Ladies of Beards of Denver go on a hunting expedition with a bit too much whiskey and sass (well, let’s be honest, the sass is always present). On those said occasions, we may not take the best notes…which is why this amazing beard is so mysterious, because from our (less than) detailed iPhone notes, we are not sure if he is Jesse or Seamus, but really, what does it matter because LOOK AT HIS BEARD!!! (yes, Jesse/Seamus’ beard warrants three exclamation points). We met him at the third night of Lucero performances at the Bluebird back in April, and he lives in the City Park ‘hood and has resided in Denver the past six years, before that hailing from Albany, New York. Jesse/Seamus said he’s a retired bartender and loves to hang out. With his amazing beard we imagine he has tons of takers! Thanks darlin’!

Who knew spirits and beards went so well together? The ladies of Beards of Denver, that’s who. A few months back at the D-Still spirit-tasting event in Denver (during the American Distilling Institute conference), we were lucky enough to happen upon Gary Hinegardner and his son Jeremy and their amazing father/son beards’ combo. The elder Hinegardner, who lives in Montgomery City, Missouri, with his wife, Katy, dabbles in making spirits (gin, whiskey, and vodka) and also makes the impressive wooden hats Jeremy is modeling here.Jeremy, who has called Boulder home since 2000, runs his own company called Copious Free Time, where he helps people solve complex technology problems. Jeremy used to only have a goatee (for shame!) and after attending a conference in Ireland last year (where attendees were asked to grow out their beards; sounds like a great conference) he smartly decided to stay on the beard-path. Gary has had a beard or ‘stache most of his adult life (wise man indeed) and he was a wood turner for a long time before he decided to learn how to make wooden hats, and now, spirits. His distillery is in New Florence, Missouri and he plans to let his beard continue to grow as he pursues his newest passion. Check out Gary’s distillery both here and here. Thanks for keeping beards in the family, guys!

It’s no secret to regular Beards of Denver readers that we love the Hi-Dive, and, based on the number of bearded men we have encountered there, it sure seems to love us. On a recent Thursday night, we again made the short trek to the Hi-Dive to catch the musical styling’s of Mr. Charlie Parr. Charlie, who hails from the lovely (though usually frigid) city of Duluth, Minnesota, not only brought the house down and had the crowd kicking holes in the Hi-Dave dance floor with his original and piercing style of folk/bluegrass, he also was kind enough to talk with us about that stellar beard of his. Charlie’s had his beard since he was about 16 years old, when it assisted in his efforts to purchase cigarettes. His wife of over 20 years loves his beard—she even laughed at him on their wedding day for trimming it too short. Charlie does a close shave about once a year, but doesn’t actually shave, he explained; he bought a set of dog clippers (complete with a poodle logo) at a yard sale years ago and continues to use those—sans any attachments—to trim his great beard. Charlie’s next stop after Denver was to head to Europe for some shows; he told us a film crew from Paris was shooting a documentary about him, which we hope prominently features his beard. Charlie also told us his young daughter loves his beard, except when her tootsie roll pop gets stuck in it (true story); she much prefers her dad’s beard on his face than on her candy. If you get a chance to see Charlie perform don’t delay one minute; you will have a blast. The beard, in this case, is the added bonus.

This may come as a shock (or perhaps, not a shock at all) but distilling and great beards tend to go hand-in-hand. So when the ladies of Beards of Denver volunteered at the American Distilling Institute conference in Denver recently, we were pleased to meet Brandon, who works at Copper Run Distillery in Branson, Missouri. Whoever thinks Branson just has cheeky stage shows and buses of retirees frequenting it is wrong; it also has its share of men with impressive beards and great distilleries! Going back about five years, Brandon has been growing out his beard at least every winter, with his current beard at a year. When he distills, he often braids his beard and tucks it back, which we were happy to hear; we don’t want to know of any beard accidents in the workplace! When he’s not making moonshine, Brandon’s playing bluegrass music in the Ozarks with his band the Shotgun Brothers (which, not surprisingly, originates form shot-gunning some brews). Brandon has an 8-year old daughter who LOVES his beard and encourages him to enter regional beard competitions; smart little lady, even at age 8! Brandon admitted he does the competitions to make her happy and to get together and have some libations and raise money for charity; we love that honesty in a fantastic beard! Thanks Brandon, and keep that whiskey flowing for us!